“A Climate Conversation” Introduction to Climate Science Webinar Part of the “Building a Climate Resilient National Capital Region” series of webinars.

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Presentation on theme: "“A Climate Conversation” Introduction to Climate Science Webinar Part of the “Building a Climate Resilient National Capital Region” series of webinars."— Presentation transcript:

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“A Climate Conversation” Introduction to Climate Science Webinar Part of the “Building a Climate Resilient National Capital Region” series of webinars and workshops http://www.mwcog.org/environment/climate/resilience.asp

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Comparing Weather and Climate “Weather is what you get; climate is what you expect.” Climate describes weather patterns over a longer term Weather describes current and near- term conditions

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January February MayApril March 2012 Question What does the climate record tell us?

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Temperature has risen too, but the trend varies more year-to-year A century of local data tells us the climate is changing Trend: +4.2 o F since 1900 Sea Level has risen over decades, though individual years vary somewhat Trend: +10 in since 1930 What’s already happened locally? NOAA 2013

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NCA Regional Climate Scenarios Information on precipitation are illustrated here for the Northeast Region. Other regions available at: http://scenarios.globalchange.gov/node/1155 http://scenarios.globalchange.gov/node/1155 Seasonal changes simulated by NARCCAP* indicate an increase in precipitation for winter, spring, and fall, but a decrease for summer *North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP) National Climate Assessment 2013

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The Most At-Risk Populations Young children Elderly 65 years old and older Elderly people that live alone Communities already stressed by environmental justice and health factors Socially isolated persons Chronically ill people or people with respiratory diseases Persons living in low-lying land areas Persons that have a low socioeconomic status Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (2014)

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Natural Systems Impacts Inundation of wetlands and low-lying areas. Native species may be forced out of the area. Dead zones in the Chesapeake Bay will likely increase. Establishment of invasive populations of species. Degraded water quality in coastal bays due to increases in winter-spring runoff. Increased length of the growing season early in century. Milk and poultry production negatively impacted by heat stress later in the century. Increased forest vulnerability to drought, insect pests, and forest fires. EXAMPLES: University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (2014)

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For more information… http://www.mwcog.org/environment/climate/resilience.asp NASA

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QUESTIONS*? *You may also pose questions to NASA climate scientists at any time during the course of this series of webinars and workshops using the link under the Questions & Feedback section on: http://www.mwcog.org/environment/climate/resilience.asp